This Week on Broadway – 08.21.17

Opening this Week on Broadway:

A new musical revue that pays tribute to legendary producer Harold Prince’s 60-year career and examines the circumstances and fortune that led to him creating some of the most beloved theater of all time.

Oscar nominee Elizabeth McGovern stars in a time-traveling play about the transformation of a British family in the first half of the twentieth century, exploring notions of choice, chance, and destiny.

News and Notes:

Following a 2013 world premiere at New Jersey’s George Street Playhouse, the musical comedy Gettin’ The Band Back Together will open on Broadway in 2018. The musical features the performance group Grundleshotz, who helped develop the show through a series of improv rehearsals. Initially billed as a “rockin’ Valentine to the Garden State,” Gettin’ The Band Back Together is set in Sayreville, New Jersey, and follows 40-year-old Mitch Shapiro, who just moved back to his mother’s house after losing his job on Wall Street. Upon reconnecting with his high school friends, he and his old band Juggernaut decide to enter a high-stakes Battle of the Bands. More details here.

London Revival of Travesties to Transfer to Broadway

After its hit, sold-out productions at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory and the West End, a revival of Tom Stoppard’s Tony-winning play Travesties will bow on Broadway in the spring. The play centers on Henry Carr, an elderly man who reminisces about Zurich in 1917 during the First World War. His memories include interactions with James Joyce when he was writing Ulysses, Tristan Tzara during the rise of Dada, and Lenin ahead of the Russian Revolution. The Broadway revival will be presented by Roundabout Theatre Company. More details here.

Groundhog Day, the musical that won over critics and awards voters in the U.K. but never caught on in New York, has posted a Broadway closing notice for September 17 after a run of five months at the August Wilson Theater. The musical earned critical raves at London’s Old Vic and went on to play a West End transfer, winning two major Olivier Awards, one for new musical and one for lead actor Andy Karl. The musical’s move to Broadway had its share of hiccups, however. A technical malfunction stopped the first preview, and then, during a critics’ performance, Karl suffered a knee injury and finished the performance using a cane. He wore a prominent knee brace at the production’s opening night. The show was nominated for eight Tony Awards, including new musical and lead actor in a musical, but lost both trophies to season champ Dear Evan Hansen. At the box office, the production had a promising first week but has since softened, posting middling numbers for much of the summer. More details here.

Glenn Close to Star in Sunset Boulevard Movie Musical

A new movie musical version of Sunset Boulevard is eyeing a January 2018 start at Paramount. Glenn Close, who just finished her run in the show on Broadway, is “in advanced talks” to reprise her role. Based on Billy Wilder’s classic Academy Award-winning film, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tony Award-winning Best Musical features a celebrated book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. Sunset Boulevard originally premiered in London’s West End at the Adelphi Theatre in 1993, where it ran for almost four years and played to nearly two million people. The American premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles in December 1993 with Glenn Close as Norma. The musical was an instant success and played 369 performances before moving to Broadway in 1994 with, what was then, the biggest advance in Broadway history, at $37.5 million. More details here.